U.S. Judge To VW "Times Up"

Putting Volkswagen TDI Story In Context - EPA: Volkswagen Light Duty Diesel Vehicle Violations for Model Years 2009-2016

TIMELINE

On September 18, 2015, EPA issued a Notice of Violation of the Clean Air Act to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. alleging that model year 2009 – 2015 Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars equipped with 2.0 liter engines included software that circumvents EPA emissions standards for nitrogen oxides. This software is a “defeat device” as defined by the Clean Air Act.

On November 2, 2015, EPA issued a second Notice of Violation to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. This notice was also issued to Porsche AG and Porsche Cars North America. These five companies are collectively referred to as Volkswagen. The Notice of Violation alleges that Volkswagen developed and installed a defeat device in certain light duty diesel vehicles equipped with 3.0 liter engines for model years 2014 through 2016 that increases emissions of nitrogen oxide up to nine times EPA’s standard.

On November 19, 2015Volkswagen officials informed EPA that the defeat device has existed in all of its U.S. 3.0 liter diesel models since 2009.

On January 4, 2016, the Department of Justice filed a complaint on behalf of EPA against Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations, LLC, Porsche AG, and Porsche Cars North America, Inc. for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.

California has initiated its own investigation and is also working closely with EPA on further testing of diesel engines.

Affected 2.0 liter diesel models and model years
•Jetta (2009-2015)
•Jetta Sportwagen (2009-2014)
•Beetle (2013-2015)
•Beetle Convertible (2013-2015)
•Audi A3 (2010-2015)
•Golf (2010-2015)
•Golf Sportwagen (2015)
•Passat (2012-2015)

Affected 3.0 liter diesel vehicle models and model years
•Volkswagen Touareg (2009-2016)
•Porsche Cayenne (2013-2016)
•Audi A6 Quattro (2014-2016)
•Audi A7 Quattro (2014-2016)
•Audi A8 (2014-2016)
•Audi A8L (2014-2016)
•Audi Q5 (2014-2016)
•Audi Q7 (2009-2016)

U.S. Federal Judge Gives VW 1 Month To Report What They Are Going To Do To Ameliorate Their Dishonesty

Washington DC February 24, 2016; David Shepardson writing for Reuters reported that a federal judge turned up the heat on Volkswagen AG on Thursday, setting a March deadline for the German automaker to state whether it has found an emissions fix for 600,000 diesel vehicles that is acceptable to U.S. regulators.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said he wants a definitive answer on the status of a fix by March 24.

Noting that VW had admitted in September that its vehicles on U.S. roads were using software to emit up to 40 times legally allowable pollution, Breyer said time was running out.

"Six months is long enough" to determine if this is a fixable problem, Breyer said. "This is an ongoing problem."

The U.S. Justice Department last month sued Europe's biggest automaker for up to $46 billion for violating U.S. environmental laws. VW and its Audi and Porsche brands continue to be barred from selling any new 2016 diesel models in the United States. VW also faces more than 500 lawsuits from U.S. owners.

VW lawyer Robert Giuffra told Breyer at the hearing that the automaker is making progress in trying to reach a settlement with the Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board.

"We are committed to resolving these matters as quickly as possible," Giuffra said, adding that the diesel emissions issue involves up to 11 million vehicles in 100 countries.

Giuffra declined to offer specifics on the settlement talks, saying the Justice Department had asked VW not to discuss any aspect of the negotiations.

VW has said previously it was considering buybacks as part of a settlement, a move that could cost it billions.

Breyer said a settlement may include provisions that are "not the most advantageous for the company," but he added that VW has some difficult decisions to make "in the very near future."

Those decisions will have "serious consequences," he said.

Breyer previously named former FBI director Robert Mueller as a settlement adviser. Mueller has met with VW officials, including the senior engineer responsible for the fix. The judge now wants top VW executives to meet with Mueller as well.

Thursday's hearing came as a VW spokesman in Germany said its management committee had hired a German law firm to advise it on liabilities the carmaker could face as a result of the diesel emissions scandal.

The new firm will advise on the liabilities VW could face under corporate law, the spokesman said, declining to name the firm.

Earlier this month, VW postponed the publication of its 2015 results and delayed an annual shareholders' meeting due to difficulties in putting an exact price on the scandal.

(Additional reporting for Reuters by Andreas Cremer in Berlin; Editing by Mark Potter and Tom Brown)